Barnes & Noble Launches 'My Favorite Teacher' Contest

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced the start of the 2013-2014 "Barnes & Noble My Favorite Teacher Contest," which provides middle and high school students the opportunity to tell their communities how much they appreciate their teachers.

Students can nominate their teacher by writing essays, poems or thank you letters that share how their teacher has influenced their life and why they appreciate and admire their teacher. Participating schools collect the essays and submit them to their local Barnes & Noble store for consideration. Entries will be judged on the compelling nature of the teacher's qualities, the sincerity of the student's appreciation and the quality of expression and writing.

Teachers from grades 1 through 12 are eligible for nomination. Awards include cash prizes for the teachers and schools, NOOK tablets and more. The contest is broken down into local and regional winners, from which the Barnes & Noble Teacher of the Year will be chosen.

The local winning teacher will be recognized in the spring at an event at their local Barnes & Noble, where they will receive a special award acknowledging their achievement and additional recognition and praise from their community. The student who wrote the winning essay or poem will receive a certificate of recognition and also be honored at the ceremony.

The winning teacher from each store will be entered into the regional contest. Each regional winner will receive a $500 Barnes & Noble gift card. From the pool of regional winners, Barnes & Noble will name one teacher the Barnes & Noble National Teacher of the Year. The winning teacher will receive $5,000 and the title of "Barnes & Noble My Favorite Teacher of the Year." The winner will be recognized at a special community celebration at their local Barnes & Noble store, and the winning teacher's school will receive $5,000.

"It was a very humbling experience," said Gina Wilson, the 2013 national winner. "I didn't realize how much my former student, Santia René, had been impacted in 5th grade until it was brought to light through her amazing essay. I was ecstatic to receive the accolades and thrilled that my school did, too! I will never forget May 9 - what an honor to have the mayor name it Gina Wilson Day. Thank you Barnes & Noble for supporting teachers and the educational system. This contest allowed students the opportunity to express their feelings and show how talented they are."

Barnes & Noble has long supported teachers through Educator Appreciation Weeks, special discounts, personalized service, in-store events, store tours for classrooms, and, since 2011, the My Favorite Teacher Contest. "Barnes & Noble takes pride in supporting educators through our Bookfairs and the B&N Educator Program," said Sarah DiFrancesco, Director of Business Development for Barnes & Noble. "Teachers in communities throughout the nation work hard and deserve recognition. It is heartwarming to see a gesture as pure as a child writing kind words about their teacher and reading it aloud to them at a My Favorite Teacher celebration. There's rarely a dry eye in the audience."

"The My Favorite Teacher Contest is another way for Barnes & Noble and the community to recognize how important teachers can be in their students' lives. A bookstore is much like a school - both are places of learning and aspiration," DiFrancesco added.

The Barnes & Noble My Favorite Teacher Contest begins September 9, 2013, and ends March 1, 2014. Students who want to participate should submit their essay or poem to their local Barnes & Noble by March 1. Only middle and high school students and active teachers employed in elementary, middle or high schools in the United States are eligible to win. More details on the contest rules can be found at www.bn.com/myfavoriteteacher.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) is a Fortune 500 company and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The company operates 674 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web's largest e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com). Its NOOK Media LLC subsidiary is a leader in the emerging digital reading and digital education markets. The NOOK digital business offers award-winning NOOK products and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store (www.nook.com), while Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC operates 692 bookstores serving over 4.6 million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble is proud to be named a J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Customer Service Champion and is only one of 50 U.S. companies so named. Barnes & Noble.com is ranked the number one online retailer in customer satisfaction in the book, music and video category and a Top 10 online retailer overall in customer satisfaction according to ForeSee E-Retail Satisfaction Index (Spring Top 100 Edition).

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company's corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

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